The Hero And The Champion
by Maddox139
Summary: Jaune Arc always wanted to be a hero, well so too did his beloved cousin. However the world of Remnant is at the brink of something. Something that none had ever expected. In this long forgotten world in the dark corners of the galaxy where the touch of the alien and the heretic has yet to corrupt, lays an advantage for Humanity in the coming darkness but only if it is found first.
1. Chapter 1

**-The Hero and the Champion-**

" _Even in the forgotten corners of this accursed blood stained galaxy, the forces of the ruinous powers corrupts with its noxious touch. HAHAHAHAHA! BLOOD FOR THE BLOOD GOD! BLOOD FOR THE BLOOD GOD! BLOOD FOR THE BLOOD GOD!"_

' _Mind Journeys of a Heretic'_

 _(Suppressed by order of the Ordo Hereticus)_

000

Born to a small family of three was Daniel Arc. Blond like all Arcs, but lacking in charm and talent like his favoured cousin, Jaune, who was older by two months. Daniel, like the cousin he views as a brother, hopes to one day be a hero, as did all the male Arcs before him had been.

Daniel was slightly shorter than his cousin, with neat blond hair and the boyish charm that all male Arcs seem to have. Sporting an almost identical boyish face yet untouched by maturity just like his cousin, Jaune and him would have been identical were it not for the contrasting clothe colours the two always wore.

Shielding his blue eyes were a pair of black framed, square glasses which were nerdy, unpopular and perfectly comfortable. Daniel wore the armour set he got as a birthday present from his father, which unlike the main Arc's lineage tradition of silver or white coloured equipment; his was a shiny set of black with blood red outlines. Other than the armour, he wore the near exact set of clothing as his cousin. His weapon however was a masterfully crafted one-handed, slightly curved single blade axe with a serrated edge and a blood red engraving of two arcs. Like his armour, the weapon was a dark shade of metal grey while its blade retained the traditional shiny black. It was surprisingly lightweight despite its appearance and had been hanging on display before Daniel decided to sneak it into Beacon.

Daniel was relatively fit and had the same experience with combat and romance as Jaune when they both decided to sneak into Beacon academy together, unfortunately.

In all his life, Daniel had done everything together with Jaune. From their secret play-fights pretending to be heroes, to standing against bullies and getting pummelled together. Needless to say, they had managed to run head long into countless trouble together and each considered the other to be a constant in their lives. Even their families viewed them to be inseparable twins born from different households.

They both thought they knew each other inside out and they were probably right at that time, even at the age of seventeen. They both thought they were going to be hunters together, then heroes when they both decided to sneak out of their houses. They both thought that the other would be watching his back when they were the valiant, indomitable heroes they both swore to become. They both thought they would be together forever.

They never could have imagined that only one of them managed to get into Beacon.

Before the fateful day where they had decided to take that big step into the world of hunters, they made an oath. Daniel and Jaune Arc, the inseparable pair, would for once in their lives, attend Beacon Academy and graduate from it separately. The reason for this was simple. After all, how could they expect to grow and develop the skills necessary for their lives as hunters and heroes when they always depended on one another?

So they stood at separate ends of the airship, vomited at separate trash bins and spent their first day at Beacon at different locations while trying to make new friends. On the day on initiation, they were at separate ends before being plunged into the tender mercies of Emerald forest.

Jaune Arc met Pyrrha Nikos and together they met with the rest of their team as well as team RWBY. Daniel Arc had no such luck, when he was flung into Emerald forest, he had no one to safely pin him to a tree for a landing strategy. Instead, he crashed into the jungle canopy and sustained a broken left arm with scratches to come with it. Saved only by the tree branches that blanketed the forest, he limped his way around, hoping to find anyone for a partner.

Daniel was bleeding, tired, hungry and understandably upset. His best efforts of trying to make the best of the situation were not paying off and he suspected that things were only starting to get worse.

He was right.

At the far edge of the forest, he heard a giant Nevermore screech before it was suddenly cut short by something. Following the noise he found the area where the artefact was to be retrieved. There were none left.

Thus, having returned to Beacon without an artefact or a partner, Daniel Arc was deemed unsuitable for life in Beacon and was to be deported effective, immediately. He did not even get a chance to see his cousin's initiation ceremony. In a way he was thankful for that. After all, it would be depressing to see the start of something you could no longer be a part of.

000

"Congratulations, young man." Ozpin looked on with mild amusement as the blond mess was knocked onto the ground by his elated partner.

' _Wahhh..'_ Him? A leader? Well that was ridiculous. Pyrrha was many times a better choice than him and Jaune was not sure he could avoid from ruining everything from the get go, cause… _You know…_ Oh fiddlesticks.

Something did not feel right for the troubled blond as the assembly was already on its way to return to their dorms. Everything clicked at the moment. _'Wait. Where's Daniel? Gotta find him.'_

"Jaune? Are you coming?" Pyrrha tilted her head as she asked and he could not help but notice the way her pony tail seem to sway. He was supposed to be with his team for their introductions to their dorms which they would be nesting in for the next four years. It would be a good idea to follow them since he did not know the way around… But Daniel… Ah but Daniel did say they should be more independent from each other from now. But Daniel…

"Sorry, just lost in my thoughts for a while. I'm coming!" Now that he thought about it, Headmaster Ozpin had not mention any team with a Daniel Arc in it; neither did he see him anywhere. _'Huh. Guess I'll ask him tomorrow then, wonder which team he's in!'_

The blond knight skipped happily with his team, getting lost in trying to familiarise with each other. Well three of them were, Nora was just being Nora and doing Nora things.

It was the next evening when he finally had the time to manage a scroll call to his cousin and partner in crime. It was peculiar not being able to see him for almost two days already, even stranger was the fact that they _all_ had to attend Professor Port's classes and his suddenly elusive cousin is just nowhere to be found. He tried asking around but no one seems to know who Daniel was or any team with a Daniel Arc in it. _'It's almost as if he didn't make it in the initiation…'_

The call got through after two rings and to his relief, he heard his fellow blonde's voice after what seemed like an eternity.

"Hello."

"Daniel?! Thank goodness! I couldn't find you since initiation day and I know about what we promised for not meeting up as much as possible but I have been soooo worried about you! Which- uh… Which team are you on?" whelp, he did try to be as tactful as possible but a nagging feeling in his gut had been yelling at him that he already knew the answer. Jaune just hoped to any gods above it did not come to that.

"I-I uhh… - _sigh_ \- I'm not in any team Jaune, I'm not even at Beacon anymore. I figured you would have guessed this by now. Arghh. Shit. Dammit bro I failed the fucking initiation and I almost died a couple of times back then." Jaune chocked back his cough but could not help but let out a tiny - _shit-_ in his shock.

"So. How are you doing on your side?" How was he? He was doing well, spectacular compared to his cousin but how in the fucking world was he going to answer that? Dammit.

He heard another sigh from the speaker and was that traffic in the background? Oh crap, now that he remembered, the two of them did not bring much lien with them on this misadventure. It was kind of an 'All Or Nothing' thing for the two and its coming to bite one of them in the proverbial rear, hard. He really hoped what he was suspecting were simply unfounded worries but at this moment, Jaune knew he should be prepared for the worse.

"Jaune you don't have to worry about me, I can handle myself and don't worry about the promise about us being heroes together. We both knew that it wasn't gonna be easy and honestly, this turned out pretty well. At least one of us is getting started on his journey huh? I'm currently trying to find a job here, until I make enough to return home. Ugh, mom, dad and your folks are probably going to be quite pissed. Uncle Carrow especially since you snuck out with, oh I don't know? _THE_ family heirloom? Also Elly will probably kick me for-"

"Shit Danny, I-I don't know what to say. We were supposed to do this _together._ I still have some of the lien left so meet with me, I can pass it to you. Everything's so messed up. Fuck. Just-fuck. I have a team now Danny. Its J_N_P_R, stands for juniper. Always hated the blue nasty things. I made team leader and uhh… Shit, I'm not trying to make you feel worse or anything! It's just… Fuck. Where did you stay last night? Where are you now exactly? I can hear traffic." He decided to change the subject; he never was good at this was he? Shit. If Daniel's using the f-word then he must be pretty down in the dumpsters, in a frigging train wreck during an earthquake while in a land slide. Shit.

"I stayed at a hotel last night. I'm looking for a job now remember?" That was a total lie. They did not have enough money to afford a hotel in Vale. It was a pretty stupid decision to not bring enough now that he came to ponder on it. But they _were_ guilty for sneaking out on the first place. Their parents must be worried sick and they had every right to. Fuck.

"Daniel, please. Take care of yourself. I will try to send you the money ASAP. Just… Just hang on till we figure this out." Another sigh. By now, he was certain Daniel was on his wit's ends. "I will. But really, there's not much to figure out. You go do your thing and make us proud. Don't stop because of me Jaune and I'm not gonna stop on mine as well. Do this, for the both of us. Promise?"

Jaune had no need to hesitate now; after all, an Arc never breaks his promise. An Arc sworn oath might as well have been declared by the powers that govern the universe. It is never broken, has never been and never will be broken.

 **Never.**

"Promise. Take care bro. I will see you soon okay?" Jaune could practically envision his cousin's smile now even if he was not physically there.

"Yeah promise." With that, the call ended. The blond knight did not know what to feel exactly at that moment but he knew one thing was for sure. He was going to be a hero.

000

The trip on the bullhead from Beacon was sombre and moody. Daniel was not surprised. After all, those here were the failures and the inadequate. It was an end to something that never started and he was part of it.

He checked his wallet and what he found did not make his mood any better. Dread made for a bad companion, for him at least. More importantly though, how was he going to go back home? Where was he going to stay? What was he going to eat for the next few days? Weeks? Months? _'Shit'_

Daniel supposed he may as well search for a job immediately upon landing. Well, after hurling his stomach acid out. Oh yeah, he was hungry too. Well, things were looking splendid. _'Wonder how Jaune is doing… Better than me at least. I failed at the start huh? Isn't that wonderful, fuck.'_

When the bullhead touched solid ground, the sun had already resided into the distance and most shops had already closed for the night. So much for his plans in job hunting, that went down the drain quickly. He supposed he should get a meal for the night and resume his mission for an income source on the morrow.

However as luck would have it, he couldn't even find a cheap place for a meal. _'How is there not a convenience store nearby?! Jeez!'_ The blond boy's stomach rumbled in protest, demanding that it be pleased. All the available food outlets at this hour were too expensive for him. Daniel figured he might as well search for a place to spend the night.

He stuffed his hands into his pockets and idly noted the tears and holes in his clothing he had gotten from initiation early this morning. While walking uncertainly down the dim road, he stared at the shattered moon and found something there that he had never seen before.

Even though the moon's image had remained unchanging, even though he had gazed upon its visage countless times, he found new meaning in it. He supposed some things can only be seen with a change in perspective.

After what seemed like and probably was hours of searching, Daniel gave up and the blond boy chose to slump against a dumpster in a crook alleyway in between a dust shop and a bar. Slowly, he felt his eye lids getting heavier and the world faded.

The next morning he woke up to the sound of cars horning and he got up with severe aches in his body as well as a sharp pain in his tummy. Crap, he had yet to eat since the previous breakfast. He supposed he should go searching for a meal and a job now. Too bad the dust shop he had been sleeping behind had not opened yet.

Hours had passed since then and the afternoon sun was shining so brightly that it made his day even worse than it should. Seriously, no rest for the weak? At least his stomach was full, for now. The bad news was that he had no lien left, crap. The worse news was there were no shops in need for an assistant, what with poor business recently due to all the robberies.

His pocket vibrated for a moment, bringing an abrupt halt to his train of thoughts. Oh, it was Jaune. _'Oh boy…'_

They talked over the phone and he knew that Jaune probably guessed what had happened to him. His cousin was letting loose quite an unsurprisingly large amount of f-words and other expletives. His use of 'Danny' had not gone unnoticed, that meant his blond not-twin was really taking this badly. It was nice hearing Jaune making team leader though, but a disgustingly burst of maliciousness that sprung from his chest ruined the happy moment. He said nothing though and Jaune was apologising for something he had not done. What a terrible person he was.

So he tried his best to comfort the other blond but when Jaune started asking about where he stayed and his current situation he panicked. He just _knew_ that his lovable cousin would rush down and find him regardless of his new responsibilities. No way would Daniel want to do anything to sabotage his cousin's greatest chance of success so he made a promise in return for Jaune's.

His cousin calmed down significantly afterwards. They talked for a while until they hung up. He felt much better already, though that does nothing to solve any problems. Daniel decided he might as well spend the night at the same place again, it was quiet there.

On his way back, he noticed the dust store he slept behind had opened already. Lo, and behold, they were hiring! Finally some good news! After a short interview he was hired by a scrawny old man with tuffs of white hair on his otherwise bald head, dressed in a full length red shirt and faded black trousers that had creases everywhere.

Things were looking better at least and by the end of the day he had a warm meal and a nice old bed located at the second floor of the small establishment that did not smell like a dumpster as compared to last night's resting area. Maybe, just maybe, everything would start to go uphill for him now. One could only hope, after all.

 _ **However, hope is the first step on the road to disappointment and Daniel Arc would only realise it when his world drowned in a storm of blood and skulls.**_

000

A month passed quickly working as a dust store assistant. Daniel had already taken to calling his kind hearted boss Uncle Ken. Turns out uncle Ken was a retired hunter, huh. What were the odds? Uncle Ken paid his weekly wages fairly and snuck in some tiny extras on top of accommodations as well as good company. It was nice and relaxing working here at DUST-O! He even got to learn new things about hunters and dust usage every day. Uncle Ken had a meagre collection on clothing in his wardrobe so he usually wore the same rugged attire.

He contacted his parents and the main Arc household shortly after the day he landed this part-time job. They were understandably worried and had every right to be furious, which they exercised to the limit. It had been a tough day enduring the yells over the phone and trying to placate them. His parents were hunters and so was Jaune's. Well Jaune's father, uncle Carrow, was a General as well as a leading hunter. All of his six female cousins on Jaune's side were active huntresses and they were _really_ upset with both Jaune and him. Daniel just barely managed to convince them from not dragging the two 'little rebels', as they put it, back home and locked up for good measure.

The day was ending soon and according to his one month of experience working here, no customers would visit by this time. Uncle Ken smiled at him and kindly asked him to help with closing the shop. Daniel obliged without hesitation. He was extremely lucky to have met someone as nice as Uncle Ken so he intended to repay the favour.

The process was fast and ingrained in him after the first week. He cleaned the shelves, swept the floor and made everything that could be seen sparkly. Daniel shared a simple dinner with Uncle Ken over a small, rounded dining table when the old man asked him about his dreams and ambitions. He told him how he wanted to be a hunter and a hero with his cousin like their fathers and their fathers before them. He explained how he failed and that he was going back home to come back another day but he was sceptical if he could ever begin on his journey to transform into the invincible heroes he heard about. He told his kind hearted boss how he and Jaune had been living in their families' shadows for so long and the impossibly large shoes they had to fill as an Arc.

Throughout his confession, Uncle Ken simply smiled with warm eyes. He then asked, "Would you give up though?"

Giving up? Well he had thought about it, but Daniel Arc made a promise not as Daniel, but as an Arc. The oath will be fulfilled, he will do his best in his path to be a hero, failure or otherwise, so no, he will never give up. Thus he answered, "Never."

The old man visibly brightened and looked straight at the blonde's eyes. "Would you like a chance to achieve what you wanted?" Well if he put it that way there was no real need to think about it was there? "Of course! Yes definitely!"

"Then I will unlock your aura for you Daniel. From what I see, you have the potential that can change this world." Uncle Ken placed stood up, walked over to Daniel and placed his wrinkled hands onto his shoulders.

They were interrupted however by the sound of shattering glass in the shop below. "We will finish it tomorrow Daniel, don't worry." He supposed this could wait; there was the sound of crushed glass and multiple voices coming from the shop.

"Are we being robbed?" he asked. Uncle Ken looked tired and forced a smile. "Stay here Daniel, I will just give them what they want and we will call the police later okay? It'll be fine, okay?"

He was hesitant, retired hunter or no, his boss was well beyond his prime. The only person that offered him a chance after his failure at initiation was being robbed and there was no way he could tolerate that. But Uncle Ken might get hurt if he acted needlessly, he knew better now that his actions could cause more unnecessary damage. "I'm coming with you boss, you know… To watch your back."

The old man laughed and he relented. This wasn't the first time something like this has happened anyway. Besides, robbers don't go killing their victims since it was counterproductive to have the police armed to the teeth chasing after them.

000

Everything that happened next was a blur. The robbers were dressed like any civilian but they all had a grimm mask on their faces and some form of animal appendage poking out of their heads. These people were obviously Faunus and they were packing heat. Daniel recognised them as the radical group of extremist that had been causing quite a scene in different parts of Remnant, the White Fang.

Uncle Ken froze as soon as he saw them and raised his arms non-threateningly while subtly blocking the boy behind him with his own skinny, wrinkled body. The old man had not even uttered a word when the robbers raised their fire arms and shot at him. A sheet of yellow flickered and eventually gave out as the projectiles peppered against it.

With one last heave of effort, Uncle Ken, the soft hearted person that had took him in, sheltered and gave him hope in all but a span of a month, turned around lightning fast and pushed him up the stairs. Visibly straining on the assault, Uncle Ken mouthed a silent 'go' before his aura gave out and his body was torn asunder by the barrage of ammunition.

Daniel's eyes widened, too horrified to even let out a scream as his temporary guardian and friend was thoroughly dismembered in front of him. He thought he heard voices, too loud to be a whisper, but too silent to be nearby. He felt rather than saw his clothes soaked with something warm and it was dripping down from his face.

The old man had died on where he stood and his remains were spilt everywhere, he heard the sound of laughing and encroaching footsteps. He did the only thing he could, he ran up. Up where he did not have to see that horrible, horrible scene again, up where his weapon laid, up where he will take a stand and make those bastards pay. His heart was hammering against his chest, he could feel his pulse in the veins of his neck and his breaths were laboured and erratic. He could not stop his hands from shaking as he opened the door to the room where he was having dinner at moments ago and ran to his room.

His hands did not stop shaking as he held his weapon, it had not stopped when he closed the door to his room and crouched at the side, waiting to ambush the next fucker that came in. He held the weapon he arrogantly took from his household tightly in his right hand and pointed it to the ground with the blade facing sideways from him so that he could swing it in an arc. Blood, not his, dripped from his hands down to the handle and it trickled towards the black blade of his axe.

Not a moment too soon, he heard slow footsteps climbing up the stairs, no doubt seeking to end him like they did Uncle Ken. He was frightened and no matter what he did, whether breathing methods or silent self-encouragement, did nothing to dispel the tension in his hands or the pounding in his chest. Then what he heard next made him feel nothing but _hatred._

"Man that old fucktard just exploded! It wasn't even fun! One moment he was just standin' there, the next? _BLAM!_ Think I got some of him on me, ugh…"

"Yeah them hollow point rounds in this babies sure don't mess around. Shouldn't have wasted them though… I don't care what Ryan says, that fucking loser was waaaaay past his glory days, it would've been fun bashing his skull in ourselves."

"HAH! That would be fun, lousy old fart can only blame himself for bein' human. Think the other one's here?" They were right outside his room and he had listened to everything, word for word. These… These filthy cunts murdered the one person that wasn't family who treated him kindly and gave him hope. His hands were no longer shaking, his breaths were still heavy, but for a different reason.

He was going to make them bleed and see to it that he spilt their guts and shit out from their fucking bodies. _Oh yes…_

The knob turned and the door swung wide. The bastard had on a shit eating grin and it only served to fuel him with righteous fury. He swung the axe and it easily sliced through its prey's abdomen, slashing through muscle, spine and organs like water. Through to his word, Daniel's first victim died painfully, writhing on the ground in half as his organs laid bare for the world to see.

Daniel screamed at the top of his lungs until his throat hurt as he hacked his way to the next robber. The dying Faunus's comrades were experienced enough to act quickly and pointed their guns at the blond berserker but they failed in their attempt to kill him.

The enraged teen hacked the nearest person neck to torso and grabbed the half of his victim with his left hand to use it as an impromptu meat shield and charged for the last two robbers.

The other half of the team of four fired their guns but at such close range, they had little time to aim before Daniel came up to them. What their shots hit however was the remains of the poor loser that was the second of the two who died.

The stench of blood and shit became stronger as the third died the axe drove upwards from his crouch to his shoulder. His screams died quickly as the smaller half with his head still attached was thrown at the last remaining terrorist. Daniel wasted no time tearing the last man limb from limb as the Faunus had already went out of ammo and was too stunned by the deaths of his comrades.

The man screamed and screamed as his arms and legs were chopped off, leaving only his head and torso. The pain was unbearable and he begged and swore at the blond maniac that was now staring at him murderously. Daniel wasted no time in cutting open the last survivor's stomach and exposing whatever organs in there to the rest of the world. Then with one last swing, he tore upon the man's chest. The cut was so deep that it created a deep gash onto the wooden floor below the man.

For some inexplicable reason, it was only now that he remembered the name of the weapon he held in his right hand. It had served the Arc family since its creation with _Crocea Mars_ and had a long and grand history alongside its sister weapon.

 _Nigrum Mortem_ was its name.

000

It was done. He lost everything and more. Uncle Ken was gone and was left in so many pieces that no one would be able to recognise him, his murderers had judgement brought to them and his whole body was coated crimson. There were guts, bone fragments and blood in his hair and clothes. None of which were his.

Then the grief kicked in and followed closely with regret. What had he _done?_ He was now a murderer and he had nowhere else to go.

He only hoped that Jaune was doing better.

000

A/N:

This is my first time writing in a long while and I do hope I have improved since the last time. (Fingers crossed)

This is a fic about Jaune and his OC cousin if you hadn't figured it out already. This takes place during season 1 and 2 of RWBY and I shall be blatantly ignoring season 3 since it's not completely finished yet, so keep that in mind okay? Okay. I hope you enjoyed reading this as much as I have writing this.

See you next chapter.

-Maddox139


	2. Chapter 2

**-Humble Beginnings-**

" _Small steps corrupt…"_

 _-Chaos Lord Eliphas the Inheritor of the Word Bearers Legion_

000

 _The world was blanketed by darkness and distant whispers of otherworldly horrors. Streaks of purple lightning would cross the inky clouds every so often, revealing faces of aberrations that should never exist._

 _The stench of smoke was suffocating but it could not compare to the raw smell of iron, splattered generously across the landscape. Only now did he realise he was on a tower of stone and fallen buildings. Every surface imaginable was slick with the crimson ichor of blood. His heart hammered tremendously, reaching a loud crescendo in his ears. He felt his breath become increasingly heavier as faces of people he never knew shifted from the pools of blood that littered every corner. Each one with eyeless holes leaking more of that wretched liquid, expressions forever etched in agony and pointing their bloodied gaze at him._

 _Murderer…_

 _Butcher..._

 _ **Champion**_ _._

 _The whispers got louder and clearer, increasing in frequency as more of the faces materialised._

 _He turned away in hopes of escaping this hellish place. He could find no such sanctuary as he stared at a cracked mirror that had fabricated itself._

 _He was smiling with the maddest grin and he was covered in-_

 **Darkness**

He awoke in a body drenched in sweat. The smell of ocean and the sound of crashing waves surrounded him. His body ached like hell and the first thing he saw was that of the shattered moon and hazy sky.

Daniel sat up to get a hold of his bearings. The nightmare had left him more disturbed than he would have admitted, worse still it had felt so real that the world he had woken up into felt like a dream instead.

' _If only I am dreaming…'_

He was at a deserted corner, sleeping on a deserted wooden bench and feeling entirely upset in his lonely island of misery. At least he had a great view, facing the sea and all. _'Huh, no one turned on the street lights? Lousy city planning…'_

He was currently dressed in the clothes he wore back when Jaune and him stepped foot upon this city. No way was he going to be seen walking around in the bloodstained attire Uncle Ken gave to him just a month ago. He couldn't even see the white of the fabric since it had been drenched in the gunk of his…assailants. He patted his meager luggage bag, finding small comfort in the protruded shapes of his armor and Nigrum Mortem.

Deciding that he would not be getting anymore sleep, he stood up and collected whatever belongings he took with him ever since the _incident_ happened early that afternoon. In the end Daniel chose to run away from responsibility, to run away from it all. He cleaned up, packed his bags, brought whatever else he thought he might have needed and left after scrolling the police.

He did not know where he was going to go after this. Returning home and forgetting everything that happened earlier that day sounded intensely tempting but there was that small nugget of conscience that consistently pestered him to walk straight to the nearest police station and confess his crimes.

 _ **You did nothing wrong.**_

That was true, but he was mature enough to recognise the need for obeying the laws of Vale. The most he would be charged for was his extreme brutality in self-defence. The fact that the people he killed were terrorists that had murdered an innocent elderly man would probably be taken into account as well. His punishment should not be severe, if there is any at all. The worse they could do was pinning him to a compulsory psychological counselling session. If he were to be brutally honest, the jury would tend to give him the upper hand in his defence only for the fact that his victims were of Faunus blood. Such was the truth of reality.

 _ **They deserved it.**_

' _That may have been true, but it may also be false. Those scum had families, lovers and friends too.'_

 _ **Such a hollow argument, surely you should know better.**_

"ARGH!"

He was too stressed. He had to be. Recently these nameless voices had been whispering into his head but it couldn't be his own thoughts, or at least he hoped so. They were crossing the boundaries of his sanity and were affecting him more than he was comfortable with. It had begun ever since he had butchered the four White Fang goons but for some inexplicable reason, Daniel instinctively knew that these _things_ had always existed within him.

Whenever he tried to place a person or a name to that horrid unrecognisable voice, the first image to surface was that of his own face staring calmly back at him. It was disconcerting to say the least. Whenever 'it' spoke, he felt like he was being submerged in an endless sea of iridescent filthy oil with sudden sharp pikes of mindless rage that appeared as blinding flashes of crimson.

It was subtle… for the first hour or so. The intensity and frequency of unwelcomed visits by this entity had only increased since.

Perhaps that counselling session would be a great idea.

000

"Jaune! So my team and I are going to hang around Vale today since Weiss has been nagging us about the Vytal Festival and all… Yang keeps saying it's because she wants to scout the competition and we all know that but Weiss keeps denying it cause she's trying to make it sound nice. Not that she isn't nice! Well maybe sometimes, but not all the times! So you wanna come with?"

"Oh! Uh… Sorry Ruby, I've got something else planned for today. But I'll ask the rest if they wanna go!"

"Oh! Okay!" the red-hooded girl practically bounced 180 degrees and leapt back into RWBY's dorm room. The boy let out a sigh he had been holding and sullenly walked towards the airships. Which was pretty damn far from his dormitories now that he thought about it. Ah well, it would give him time to prepare himself for the dreaded flight to Vale. Motion sickness was a stupid bitch.

He had decided to pay Daniel a visit even though the stubborn idiot had insisted that he had been doing well recently, given his newly found part time job. He supposed he was still worried about his cousin ever since he failed the entry test to Beacon. It still eluded him how _he_ himself had managed to come through. "Better buy a souvenir for the rest then."

The trip had been short and yet he found himself at the trashcan once more. _No place like home indeed_. He ignored the stares pointed his way and walked off to his objective, having been used to such humiliation. Well mostly… The blood rushing to his cheeks and his increasingly sweaty back said otherwise.

"Let's see… _Dust-O! Dust-O!_ Where could it be… Turn right at Miles Street and watch for the obnoxious glowing sign… Hmm. This should be the place, right?"

He looked up from his scroll as he turned the corner and saw a huge cheaply made neon sign at the top of the two storey shop house that read 'Dust-O!'.

He rushed to enter but as he approached, he noticed red everywhere through the glass. There were meaty bits everywhere and plenty of small holes around the largest piece. Pieces of crimson-stained fabric were mixed with some of the more solid portions, their original colours likely lost due to the surrounding liquid. The store had plenty of merchandise scattered messily on the floor and for the briefest moment his mind stalled and came up with excuses for him to deny everything he just saw. Jaune swatted them away quickly enough and wasted no time in rushing into the store, his safety be damned.

The smell of iron and raw flesh was the first to assail him, the remains of whoever the poor victim was was still too fresh for the smell of decay to set. The boy covered his mouth, already his stomach threatened to heave again. He willed himself to focus, he had to find Daniel.

"DANIEL! **DANIEL**! DANIEL ANSWER ME PLEASE!" his mind came out with multiple scenarios of what could had happened, none of them were calming.

Jaune rushed behind the counter where the way to the upper floor was located. The scene above was worse. Here, four broken and maimed bodies lay. The distressed blond tried to find a face he could recognise from the four and found it hard to do so when one of the heads was cleaved brutally into halves. His eyes picked out an antler and other animal appendages on their mangled bodies.

Good. Daniel was not one of them. He rushed back down to verify the identity of the mess below and could only find pieces of the poor guy's head. Jaune ran back up in a squirming, sobbing mess to the rooms upstairs. Of the three rooms, one of them had parts of the victims strewn around a spotless queen sized bed, another had a table of untouched food and the last had a smaller bed for one. This one had his cousin's scent.

Jaune scrolled Daniel countless times since then. Vale police forces entered the premises after he left and he had no inclination to be interrogated as a criminal so he stayed and observed from afar while trying to contact his cousin. He decided to give it some time before he went to the police to search for his cousin.

He noticed team RWBY walking past the area as it was sealed off. Yang spoke to the two detectives before the rest of her team left the area after a heated discussion of sorts. He didn't really had time to wonder about that when he was still worried about Daniel.

It was many hours later after he had reluctantly eaten his dinner did Daniel finally picked up the call.

"DANIEL WHERE ARE YOU?! I have been looking everywhere and trying to reach you ever since noon! What happened man? Are you okay? Are you injur-"

"I'm okay! I'm okay! I uhh… look it's been a long day and- wait, you know?" Jaune let out a frustrated sigh that was intermixed with relief. It was a complicated feeling.

"Yeah. Yeah I know." He could not believe he could sound so calm after all that, thankfully his nerves had really cooled since. His cousin was probably feeling guilty and lost judging from the wordless noises and heavy breaths he let out. "I went to pay you a visit, found a mess instead."

"…yeah, it was a real mess alright. Can't believe everything that happened today." He heard his cousin laugh softly before he himself joined in. It was a terrible, ghastly affair they had both witnessed, one more involved than the other but both equally victimised. It was horrifying, it scarred both of them and they could do nothing but share their bit of sorrow with tired laughter.

The air did not change in anyway; Vale still had that unchanging smell of civilisation but for the life of him, the air felt lighter around his chest as relief poured from hearing Daniel's voice.

They talked about their days and what had happened since their last chat, while blatantly ignoring the elephant in the room for now, choosing rather to remise about days gone by without the other before coming to the unavoidable subject. It was a cowardly way of doing things, distasteful even. The Arc clan taught its kin to shun not from evil, but to drag it to the light. The Arc clan taught them both to fear not from those that would use theirs powers against the weak and the hapless, but to punish them.

The Arc clan did not teach them to run away from a problem. So after much reluctance, they talked about the incident.

000

It had been tiresome but Daniel had felt relieved after explaining the day's events to Jaune. He told him how his benefactor had been murdered, how he brutally avenged Uncle Ken shortly after, his plans in returning back to their family mansion and become the son his parents deserved all the while keeping this a secret for the rest of his life.

His dreams of being a hero like his father and the Arcs before him were officially over. He told Jaune to fulfil it for him while he would safeguard the Arc's political and financial standing like his parents wanted him to do.

There were many types of heroes after all and not all of them wielded a sword with incredible prowess. Besides, the Arcs had more than enough talented fighters in its current generation, it could use more heads for maintaining its finances.

Jaune wished him the best of luck and pleaded of him to call back when he reached home. His cousin also asked of him to pass a message to the current head of the Arc family, his mother and seven sisters.

Once the call ended, the morning sun's first rays broke through the embrace of night, the shattered moon and the star-lit sky fled at its coming. In a way the sun reminded him of his family, of those Arcs that were and still are greatly revered. Their legends told to the younger generation as bed time stories as inspiration and a reminder of their noble heritage.

 _ **What arrogance… Yet what purpose do such fables and exaggerations serve when you have all been but denied what should have been rightfully yours?**_

' _It gives us hope. Teaches us to be worthy of the Arc name, of what Man is capable when he sets his mind to do. Even when all hope seems lost.'_

 _ **Are you worthy then? Do you see any hope? Any chance of becoming a hero when your family were the ones responsible for you and your dear cousin's lack of training. Training you know were provided for the Arc spawn of your generation…**_

' _I may not have hope of becoming a hero that I had envisioned, but that is only because my family was worried for Jaune and I. There have been enough Arcs laid to eternal rest already. It is love that guides their decisions, not neglect, if that was what you were implying.'_

 _ **It is cruelty. Nothing but a spit in your eye and a dagger to your heart. Why brag of deeds long past when you were denied the same opportunity to do so? If your cherished blood truly loved you, why then show you hope of heroic heights which you could never achieve? If they truly cared, they would have granted you the harshest training, cloaked you in the finest armour and forged you the sharpest weapon they could muster such that no danger can ever befall you. Instead…they made you weak! Left you and that cousin of yours to rot as-**_

"ENOUGH! I will not have you slandering my family!"

 _ **Foolish child! When will you open your eyes! The path before you is not meant for you! You deserve more than what is offe-**_

"SILENCE! Whatever you are, get out of my head! Get out of my head! GET. OUT. OF. MY HEAD!"

 _ **Bah! You will learn soon enough.**_

"And for the record, I may not be worthy now, but I will be one day. No child with the blood of the Arc clan has ever been found wanting. I refuse to be the first! Never!"

Only silence met his cry and by dust was it liberating. Fortunately there was no one near this corner of the road when he shouted! Good thing he had a habit of wondering aimlessly while having long chats on his scroll, the docks would have been swarming with people this early in the morning. What started as another irritating conversation with that _thing_ became quite heated when it started pushing his buttons. Honestly! He had never gotten mad like that in a long time! Maybe he should go see a psychiatrist in secret once he got back home.

A pang of guilt struck him for keeping his imaginary _friend_ a secret from Jaune but it was for the best that he not trouble his cousin from worrying about something as ridiculous as this. The oaf needed to focus on Beacon and not on his impending insanity. He had heard that Jaune was steadily improving to become a decent hunter with his partner's help. The older blond has certainly come a long way.

Try as he might however, Daniel knew the gnawing discomfort of envy better than he would have liked to admit. He took a deep breath and exhaled loudly, taking solace in its calming rhythm. His thoughts were in a bloody mess and he knew the experience of killing people, murderers and scum though they may be, had unhinged him greatly.

"Time to head home then…"

000

After a moment of searching for a flight back home, he bought a ticket with the money he took from 'Dust-O!' and found a reasonably cheap motel to stay at until his airship arrived. Apparently he had completely forgotten about the approaching Vytal Festival which was to be held at Vale this year. _'No wonder all the flights were booked.'_

Two days passed in a blink of an eye. He felt like a walking corpse, without meaning, without purpose to guide him, other than the necessities required for living. It may have been an exaggeration but all he did was wakeup, eat, shit, shower and sleep. Well mostly the first four, he had met considerable trouble for the latter.

The nightmares had been increasingly grisly and horrifying with each subsequent night. More than once, he had caught himself turning sharply to stare at random corners as he swore he saw something staring at him from the edges of his eye. Thorough searching had produced more evidence of his mounting paranoia. The only good that came out of the two days was the sweet absence of an imaginary voice whispering to him, although being alone in such a spooky place was not exactly ideal to him. Having something to talk to, real or no, might not be unwelcomed. If he weren't so tired all the damned time he would have freaked out by now.

Good thing he was already seated on his seat aboard his flight back home. Better to be further from all that madness and live the rest of his life as a proper son of Arc. He snuggled against the confines of his chair and relished in the comfort it gave, completely forgetting his fear of motion sickness. He doubted he would have cared about such a paltry thing, after all he had been through.

The blond had not felt this relived ever since _that_ happened. A soft cough at his right interrupted his train of thought and turned to look at a slightly attractive young woman with long bronze coloured hair. "Hello! Going to Vytal for sightseeing too?"

"Uhm…yeah! I heard the scenery was nice there! A-haha…hahaha…" *cough*

Okay… That could have went better, but he wasn't really used to coming out with blatant lies on the spot. Not like he had a choice either way, there was only one family that lived on Vytal Island and he really, _really_ did not want any attention.

He remembered a legend of how the Arcs have lived on Vytal island even before the time of the shattered moon and how it was upon the ancient marble table within their mansion, did the Treaty of Vytal come to pass. It was a good thing that the Arcs renowned legend had been lost to many in the recent generations and only a handful would recognise the Arc family symbol. They were still heroes in the modern day, but have mostly been doing their duty under the cover of politics and training a secret army of sorts. Not like they told him but it was easy to put together when his and Jaune's parents are always in meetings with those important shady-types.

The attractive woman would not likely know of the significance of the Arc clan but his parent's had warned him of exposing his family's name before.

At least the young lady responded with a polite smile with the slightest hint of amusement. She probably thought he, as a teenage boy, was flustered seating side by side with an admittedly attractive older woman by themselves. Perhaps he would have, now that he thought about it. Were it not for the recent chain of events and his tested sanity, he wondered what his thoughts would be like now…

Probably still foolishly idealistic and childish, but then again, he was still foolishly idealistic, just less…innocent.

The comforting absence of his paranoia induced schizophrenia and the lack of sleep within the past few days lured him to blissful darkness.

000

The sound of a gunshot woke him up, then his ears rung from the panicked cries from all around him.

His eyes opened to see multiple armed men in civilian clothing with their faces hidden behind a Grimm mask and pointing varying types of guns at random passengers, one of which was directly at his face. _'Aww come on!'_

Needless to say, the blond stayed extremely still within his seat, not daring to move a muscle. For a moment, his treacherous mind toyed with the idea of going back to sleep.

He was severely tempted.

In the end, he reluctantly chose not to. An Arc protects the innocent after all. Might as well see how this plays out. The terrorists barked orders and verbal warnings for quiet and foolish heroism. The screams and cries of fear quickly died down.

His attention was drawn to a cluster of gun toting assholes situated further at one of the front rows in the business class section. A tall man with goat horns protruding out of a messy crop of obnoxious pink hair at the side of his head walked confidently into the circle and coughed into his fist as if giving a speech. _'Probably the leader.'_

 _Tall, vain and ugly_ had not even bothered to cover his features with one of the White Fang's iconic masks. He was dressed in one of those hideous looking punk-style outfits made of cheap leather and littered with spikes around the shoulders. It was uncouth and that outrageous pink mop on his head ticked him off endlessly.

 _How he wanted to split him open such that his insides would cover up the wretched filth's disgusting image. He reckoned the bastard would look better this way._

' _Ah, guess the voice is back.'_

Focusing again on his objective, he saw the trio of goons violently pulling the arm of an unassuming bespectacled obese man to the ground. The poor sod's other arm was clutching desperately at a blossoming red patch on the underside of his white shirt. He saw the lips of the injured man moving rapidly while trying to hold back a grimace. From such a distance he could not hear the muffled words but he assumed it would have been a plea for mercy or a last act of defiance.

The pink-haired ugly bastard laughed cruelly and kicked him forcefully in the wound. The victim howled in pain and sputtered desperately. This time though, it was loud enough to hear.

"…won't get away with t-this! Once this i-is over there will be hell to pay!" Ugly only laughed again and spit a glob of phlegm at him.

"You idiot! HAHAHA! Who did you think allowed this to happen in the first place? No hounds of yours will come to hunt us fool! The Council practically fed you to us! Pity yourself for playing on the wrong side."

The obese man only had time to widen his eyes for a fraction of a second before Ugly shot him through the head. More screams filled the cabin and Daniel heard a whimper from the lady on his right. He could not bring himself to comfort her now as his mind swelled with ideas to get an advantage in this situation. The gun pointed at his head severely limited his actions however.

He was incredibly tempted to deck the bastard pointing the gun at him once his attention drifted elsewhere but the asshole focused his attention on him the entire time. He needed to get to _Nigrum Mortem_ without them noticing him but for the life of him he just could not figure a way. Why did he have to be so useless! Why?!

Ugly coughed into his hand again and addressed the frightened passengers with a disgusting, sleazy voice. _'Fucking sadistic scum gets off from our suffering. I'm gonna butcher him like the worm he is!'_

His rage led him to lose his concentration for a short moment before he focused on what Ugly had to say. _'Alright calm down me. Calm down. Need to focus here.'_

"-just too bad you all have to be caught in the crossfire ladies and gentlemen! I'm really sorry about this! Truly I am! Hahaha!" the pink headed leader had a disturbingly wide smile plastered across his face.

"But as the kind man my ma raised me to be… I am going to give you all a chance! YES! We Faunas aren't as cruel as you make us out to be you know…" Multiple sighs were heard throughout the ship. Many, including him however, remained skeptical.

He noticed the goon whose gun was pointed at him fidget slightly at Ugly's words. A gut-wrenching feeling told him that something bad was about to happen.

"Have you all heard the term, 'survival of the fittest'? I'm sure we have all thought about something similar to this even if you have not! Well don't worry your pretty little heads if you are unfamiliar, but then again that would mean you're fucking stupid. In that case, feel free to shit yourselves in terror, because we are going to play a simple game. Last one standing gets to live. Yes, that includes children, elderly, sick and what not." Cries of 'no' and muffled pleas for a savior rose from every part of the airship.

From out of the corner of his eyes, he saw mothers fiercely hugging their children protectively, families snuggling into each other's embrace and people eyeing one another with suspicion. _'I am looking at a tragedy waiting to unfold and there's nothing I can do! Shit! Fucking hell!'_

How dare he. How dare this piece of shit cause so much misery just so he can have something to masturbate to! This…This _loveless, self-absorbed, ego maniac shall have his entrails released, his limbs broken, his bones crushed and his blood spilt!_

The goon in front of him fidgeted again and spoke to Ugly without turning his gaze away from him. "Sir… Are you sure you want to do this? I-I mean these people are innocent."

"Anthony, Anthony, Anthony. _Anthonnnny…_ my boy, when will you ever learn? These 'innocent' are the ones for the suffering our kind has suffered for so long! They should be thankful I don't just rape the pretty females in front of their men! Now, shut up."

Anthony grunted and turned his back to guard the neighboring group of passengers. His back was exposed and no one was looking at the young lady and him. Using this opportunity, he bent down as inconspicuously as he could to reach the small luggage back at his feet. _Nigrum Mortem_ shall be in his hands once more and he will save them all. He had to.

The lady at his side was crying into her hands and did not notice his actions. As much as he felt bad to admit, the young woman's actions were a good distraction from him. Daniel could feel the outline of his partner in crime through the thick fabric. _'So close!'_

"You are not touching my family and no way in dust are you going to make us murderers! Fuck you!" A skinny middle-aged man in a navy blue business suit stood up and gave Ugly the finger. Seated beside the man was a terrified woman of the same age tightly grasping the hands of a beautiful young girl around the age of fifteen to eighteen from his guess. From all around, quiet assents of agreement and anger rose.

Ugly turned to stare at the man and gave him that revolting smile, before pumping his frail body with a hail of bullets from his sub-machine gun. His wife screamed in despair and rose to shield him with her body in a moment of recklessness only to be shot multiple times. Subdued cries of fear poured from the cornered passengers. Crimson flecks flew and a familiar scene replayed itself in his mind. He swallowed the rage and waited for an opening to end the monster.

The teenage girl sat stock still, her eyes wide as saucers as her parent's bodies collapsed like ragdolls. The mother was barely alive, her pained gasps for air rang clearly in the deafening silence.

Ugly walked towards them, the sickening smile still on his face and liberally sprayed the dying woman with lead. The pink-haired maniac grabbed the girl's long ebony hair with his free arm and roughly yanked her out of her chair. This time, the girl screamed and cursed at him. Daniel's clenched his fists until his knuckles turned white, barely holding the reins of his fury.

The pink-haired bastard slapped the girl across her face and forcefully stripped her of her clothing. The teenager clawed and resisted the entire ordeal until she was down on the ground, her privates exposed obscenely to the world. Something in Daniel snapped, it felt yearning, raging, calling to him to embrace it and unleash its vile blackness. Now more so then ever, he felt the cold touch of fear crawling its way up his spine.

He wanted desperately to end the girl's suffering, end the tragedy that was to unfold but his rational mind pulled him back, pointing out the extremely disadvantageous situation he had found himself in. There was no doubt that most people here would attempt to stop the sick bastard from raping the girl, but the fate of all their lives were in his cruel hands when his cronies had guns pointed at so many others.

The girl struggled as much as she could but her strength was simply insufficient to escape from the firm grasp of the pervert. Many looked away in disgust, some of the White Fang included but none made a move to save her. She violently resisted her captor to no avail and screamed, crying for mother, father. _For anyone to save her._

' _There comes a time when a man has to make a decision Daniel. When gargantuan odds are stacked against him and there is no way out, he has to face a terrible choice. When that time comes, trust not in logic or wisdom. Instead, he must put his faith in what he truly believed was right and leave the rest to fate.'_ His father would use to say.

There was no way Daniel Arc would deny the poor girl her salvation, this he knew to shine true in his heart. He no longer cared about the best course of action or the consequences that would follow his reckless decision. All he cared about at that moment was to deliver the vengeful justice the piece of shit deserves and ensured that it _fucking hurts_.

He had _Nigrum Mortem_ in his hand a while ago but the blond wanted to bate his time for an opportunity to strike. However with the travesty that was about to take place, he no longer had the fortune of patience. If he was going to make his move, it had to count. It just had to.

He took small comfort in the black axe's familiar grip and let loose a wordless rage-filled yell as he leapt from his seat and swung his weapon at the unsuspecting goon that had his gun pointed at him not too long ago. The ebony blade did its terrible duty marvelously. Its vicious serrated edge made short work of its victim's bone, viscera and all.

Crimson sprayed from sundered arteries and two halves of the Faunas separated from neck to hip. It still amazed him how easily his ancestral weapon bit into flesh, it was almost like _Nigrum Mortem_ had been yearning for blood, starving even.

The remaining terrorists looked in shock. Many pairs of eyes stared at him unable to comprehend what had just happened. His rage was not over, by the end of it he would have Ugly's bloodied head mounted on a pike and displayed like a grisly trophy.

He stared back with wild eyes, his heartbeat ramming against his ears. He would have his vengeance! He would have their heads! HE WOULD HAVE HIS VICTORY!

' _NO LONGER WILL I BE AFRAID! NO MORE WILL I COWER! I WILL NOT BE WEAK! NOT ANYMORE! MAIM! KILL! BURN!'_

"DIEEEEEE-"Like a puppet with its strings cut, Daniel crashed to the ground and slid forward, propelled by momentum before coming to a halt. In his wake, he left a trail of red, most of which still continued to flow from him.

Ugly howled into the air like a rabid dog and holstered his smoking weapon. Snarling, Daniel attempted to crawl towards the pink-haired terrorist but found himself unable to do so when another White Fang goon stepped on his hole ridden torso and pointed his gun at the back of his head.

"What the fuck is this?! A hero wannabe? HAHAHA! Is this all you bigots can do? Pathetic! Anyone who tries this again gets something worse than a few bullets." Ugly turned away to return to what he was about to finish. The naked girl's tear-streaked eyes only widened in horror when Ugly came back to her with nothing to stop him this time.

"Let him bleed." Ugly said to the goon.

It felt like hours, or days. Maybe only a few seconds had passed but he no longer had his bearings on the passage of time. He had never felt so tired before, not even during those sleepless nights. Deep down he instinctively knew that if he let himself rest for just a moment, he would never wake up again. Not once had he felt so close with his mortality and to his surprise, it did not scare him at all.

Instead he felt grief. Despair. **Helplessness**.

Was this all he would ever amount to? Was this it? Was this the end of him? Unable to save a single person and punish the degenerates that he so despised?

What. The. Fuck.

The boy willed his focus into what would soon happen. He wanted to sear the memory of his failure as atonement. So he watched, powerless to do anything. Ugly raped the wailing girl before his eyes and he watched all of it with an all-consuming hatred. He needed to remember the self-righteous, pink-haired scum if he ever wanted his revenge. _And he wanted it badly._

When Ugly was done with the girl he mercilessly broke her neck with his boot. Not a whisper escaped her lips, too tired to continue living in this wretched world. Everywhere, soft tears and cries of fear were heard.

Ugly zipped his pants and stretched his arms like he had just finished a pleasurable workout. With the same revolting smile on his face, he continued speaking. Daniel could no longer make out the words. Blackness was already consuming his vision and he was at his wit's end.

Just before his eyes betrayed him, the screaming started.

000

 _ **Rise up. You are not done here, Daniel, Son of Arc.**_

His mind, his memories began fluttering. It was all so confusing and the pounding headache was not helping much. His world was a mess and nothing made sense. He tried to move his body only to find that it hurts everywhere.

Slowly however, the memories and images started to make sense and he remembered. A pained gasp escaped his throat and he screamed. _Oh yes, he remembered._

He got up to one knee and with one final push, he stood up. The headaches already a passing memory. What greeted his vision were corpses and the ghastly expressions permanently stuck to their faces. He no longer felt repulsed by something like this anymore, his nightmares were many times worse than this. But he still felt the boiling rage within him. It was simmering underneath the surface of rationality, waiting for its chance to overflow.

"What happened when I… When I was unconscious?" He saw no point in feeling self-conscious being seen talking to non-existent people. He needed answers now and there was no one here but the dead anyway.

The entity did not reply but his mind was immediately flooded with terrible visions. He saw how the captors forced those who were willing to participate in their sick game kill those who were not. They placed guns upon the hands of their victims and made them kill entire families. Then they made them fight each other to the death with their bare hands.

Out of the carnage a single young man emerged, his black hair unkempt and his fanciful clothing torn to pieces. When Ugly told him he could live, the young man cried into his palms. That was before the terrorist leader shot him in the back of his head.

The air-ship had landed into some obscure part of Vytal Island, all of which was still supposedly guarded by his household security. Supposedly. They should have been alerted by the time an aircraft landed in area off-limits to visitors. Yet Ugly brought his cadre of White Fang out of the landed ship into the direction of the Arc Mansion unopposed by anyone. There was no security personal rushing to investigate and it reeked of suspicion.

He knew all of this. It was impossible but he knew all of this. The visions showed him everything.

"How am I still alive? I should be dead." He double checked his body, trying to find the holes where bullets had once made. Everything was fine however, as if he had remained untouched.

 _ **Mighty Khorne has seen your plight and in His divine eyes, gifted you this one chance to attain your justice. He despises debauchery and hedonism more so than anything else in this world. Rejoice child, for He is the God of honor, war and justice! He is the Blood God and the King of warriors!**_

"What… A god? That's-"

 _ **Impossible? You asked this question yourself, now answer me this. How then are you alive? How are you unharmed after all that has happened? You have no aura to speak of, no armor to shield you and no one here to save you. What else can it be but a miracle?**_

"But why me? Why save me and not anyone else? There are so many other people in this world, so why me?"

 _ **You have potential child. A lot of potential. Mighty Khorne has seen fit that you achieve what you are capable of! Legendary feats this world has never seen can be at your fingertips if you swear fealty to Him on the Skull Throne! The Blood God knows you have been denied of your training, of your birthright! He knows your pitiful plight! Though you are powerless now, He delights in your unending fury of the wicked! Be honored Daniel! Mighty Khorne favors you!**_

"So what now? If I chose to swear my allegiance, my faith to Khorne, what happens?"

 _ **You will have the power to finally have what you always wanted.**_

"And if I don't?"

 _ **The Blood God is an honorable God, He will not force you to serve Him. But you are welcomed to when you so choose.**_

"I…choose to withhold my decision for now. Tell him I said thanks, for saving me. I will consider his offer."

 _ **Of course… But take heed child, He will not extend His mercy again for nothing in return. Mighty Khorne does not enjoy being taken advantage of.**_

"Alright, I understand. Also thanks for giving me the rage boost back in the ship, it was creepy but it saved me."

 _ **That was your own doing. I have kept silent from the day you told me to. That anger was entirely yours in the beginning…**_

"Right… right."

Daniel walked out of the ship, looking at the faces of the fallen once again and etched their features into his memory. It was disgusting how so many of these people had chosen to bludgeon one another, young or old, for their own selfish desires. Not like he could blame them though, he was sure they had families to return to, dreams to accomplish and things to do… He knew who was truly at fault here. Though no one was entirely innocent, there was one group, one person who truly deserved to die.

He would make Ugly and his cronies pay. He would protect the Arc clan and this time…

He would make things right.

000

+++ **Location?** +++

+++Segmentum _Ulitma/ Eastern_Fringe/Ghoul_Stars+++

+++ **Imperial_Presence?** +++

+++Negligible/Under_Vigil_Of_Death_Specters_Chapter+++

+++ **Warp_Storm_Thraxes?** +++

+++Diminishing_As_Prophesized+++

+++ **Proceed_Inquisitor** +++

+++The_Emperor_Protects+++

000

A/N: My apologies for taking so long in pumping this out. I have many excuses, none of which can fully justify my lateness so I shall spare myself from typing anymore.

As you can see…the 'Entity' is trying to tempt Daniel in submitting to Khorne and although Khornattes have no appreciation in speaking in riddles, try to think what you would do if you want to bring Daniel over to your(Khorne) side. Besides, the 'Entity' told no lies. I specifically made sure of that.

I double checked this for any grammatical errors and I am perfectly assured that there will be some I missed out after posting this. Ah…Careless, careless me.

No promises when the next chapter would be out, but it will be a chaotic hell of a ride. I assure you of that. (Yes, pun intended.)


End file.
